Asia Pacific Daily News - Focus on Asia-Pacific Development, Daily News Express, Scholar Creation Center

TOP HEADLINES

A trial that will deliberately expose participants who have already hadCOVID-19to the coronavirus again has been launched in the UK. The study is hoping to examine immune responses in patients and see if they get reinfected.
The number of virus patients in intensive care units in France has reached 5,893 people in the past 24 hours, 16 more than on Saturday. However, a government spokesman has said there are early signs the pressure on the medical system is easing slightly.
A Greek cargo ship sailing from Egypt has been quarantined in Crete after a sailor was found dead and 10 others tested positive for the virus , a coastguard official has said.
France's President Emmanuel Macron has admitted Russia's Sputnik V jab is unlikely to play a part in France's plans to accelerate its vaccination program because it does not have approval from the European regulator yet.
**Restaurants and pub owners in the UK are calling for the government to commit to reopening indoor hospitality on May 17 **as part of its lockdown easing plan. In a letter signed by 38 bosses including some of the biggest chains in the country, they said: "We must be driven by data not dates."
** Easing restrictions on international travel could lead to a new surge in infections** , Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has admitted as she suggested that such measures could be in place for some time.
The world's top chess players are set to resume a tournament in Russia on Monday , more than a year after it was halted midway through because of the pandemic.
Russia has agreed with China'sHualan Biological Bacterin to produce more than 100 million doses of the Sputnik V jab in China , the country's RDIF sovereign wealth fund has confirmed.

-** Drug developer AstraZeneca could release a modified version of its Vaxzevria jab, which will be more effective against the variant first discovered in South Africa,** by the end of 2021, the firm's Austria country manager, Sarah Walters, has said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has canceled a planned trip to India, scheduled to take place next week, following a surge in infections in some of its cities.

France's President Emmanuel Macron has admitted that Russia's Sputnik V jab is unlikely to play a part in France's plans to accelerate its vaccination program. /AP

ACROSS EUROPE

Guy Henderson in London

British officials say it is too early to confirm whether the next stage of the easing of lockdown pencilled for May 17 in England will be able to proceed as planned.

Scientists are monitoring cases of a new variant first discovered in South Africa, as well as one first found in India, which experts say is under investigation to find out whether it could be more deadly, transmissible or vaccine-evasive.

India is experiencing an alarming surge in new cases. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has canceled a trip to Delhi later this month to discuss a possible trade deal, as calls grow to place the country on a "red list" that bans travel to and from certain countries.

Nearly 33 million vaccine doses have now been administered across the UK, including 10 million second doses.

Ross Cullen in Paris

Emmanuel Macron says a gradual lifting of travel restrictions will be announced in the coming weeks. The French president says that "French citizens, Europeans, but also Americans" will be able to come to France this summer.

A mandatory quarantine is going to be imposed in France for people coming in from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Guyana and South Africa.

The government's track-and-trace app will now show if you have had a recent positive or negative COVID-19 test result.

"TousAntiCovid" will also certify your vaccination status. Updates to the app will be trialled from today on flights to Corsica and some overseas routes. The president of a national group of independent hoteliers and restaurateurs says his members are starting preparations for a gradual reopening from the middle of May.

AstraZeneca could release a modified version of its Vaxzevria jab by the end of 2021. /AP

Penelope Liersch in Budapest

Schools and kindergartens are reopening across Hungary as in-person education commences for age groups. It's expected at least 30 percent of students will not return to the classroom on Monday as concern grows among parents, civil liberties groups and teaching unions about case numbers and vaccination protection, with teachers only recently being given their first shot.

A survey revealed more than 75 percent of parents don't consider the opening to be safe. Lawyers from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union have created a template for parents to fill out if they are keeping their children at home, citing the current epidemic situation and increased risk of infection as reasons for their absence.

Stuart Smith in Brussels

Non-essential travel to and from Belgium has resumed, but controls will be stricter to try to ensure COVID-19 is not brought into the country.

Karine Moykens, who is in charge of Belgium's test-and-trace task force, says people entering Belgium will be called more often to confirm they have made an appointment for mandatory testing.

Travel abroad is still strongly discouraged and a passenger locator form must be completed by those who spend more than 48 hours away.

Belgium is looking to join the European Union's Digital Green Certificates scheme, which the EU expects will make internal travel between member states easier. That's due to be ready for use by the end of June.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe:

The Answers Project: Are we alone in the universe?

CGTN China:

Chinese mainland reports 11 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

**CGTN America: **

Fauci expects use of Johnson Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to be resumed in the U.S.

CGTN Africa:

Expectant women in Kenya afraid to give birth in hospitals

Sign up

here

to get the COVID-19 Europe bulletin sent directly to your inbox.